Good Morning. I can’t believe we are at the end of 2021 already. I’m not sure about you but this year has been a bit of a mixed bag, some ups, some downs and some in-between. One thing that 2021 did bring though was many memories, goals achieved and books read. This is me sharing my 2021 wrap up.
As you know books she definitely MY sort of thing and 2021 was a great year for reading. Here is my top 10 reads (plus a few more and in no particular order.
- Breathe by Elena Kravchenco
- Beautiful Demons by Sarra Cannon
- The Happiness Revolution by Andy Cope and Professor Paul McGee
- Malevolent Nevers by Tom Rimer
- The Unraveling of Luna Forester by Marisa Noelle
- Creeper by Stuart James
- Preacher Boy by Gwyn GB
- The Cursed Girls by Caro Ramsey
- Dead Mercy by Noelle Holten
- One More Christmas At The Castle by Trisha Ashley
I would also highly recommend these notable reads;
- Camp Death by Jim Ody
- Ouija by Zoé-Lee O’Farrell
- The Farmhouse by L.B Stimson
- Devil’s Fjord by David Hewson
2021 saw a change to my reading game. Taking on less commitments with blog tours and reading classics which I have never read before. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens was one of my favourites and I have found myself reading more Victorian literature which seems to speak to my soul.
I discovered a wonderful new poet as well, Erin Hanson who is amazingly talented and I definitely rate as up there with Nikita Gill and Christina Rossetti.
The main books which I wish I had read but didn’t (although I did start one) was Darkdawn by Jay Kristoff and Midnight in Everwood by M.A Kunzir which is next on my tbr.
I would love to know what your top books were for 2021 or if you have any recommendations please leave a comment below.
2021 was a good year for my writing as well. While I didn’t achieve some things which I had set out to do at the beginning of the year but that doesn’t mean it was a bad year. It was still a great year.
Firstly, I finished writing a brand new novel about a Witch, I’d probably say it’s a cosy-ish magical realism type one. I am currently going through edits with this and hope to progress more with it in 2022.
I finally had some of my writing published. A short story in a charity anthology called The Stars Will Shine Again which was edited by Emma Mitchell and featured many great authors. I was honoured to have my debut with this anthology. Raising money for such a worthwhile charity in the process.
I had a year with the RNA and as part of my scholarship I had 6 months mentoring with Simon and Schuster which was invaluable and taught me so much, this also led to one of the editors requesting my thriller manuscript when I have finished writing it.
I also undertook various courses both through the RNA and independently and feel like I am really honing my craft and learning my style.
I created myself a writing and plotting planner which I then went on to launch on Amazon and was really happy with how it was received. I am looking forward to adding more to this range in the new year.
Life has been a little up and down this year. I’ve managed to lose a stone in weight which is great but the function of my kidney with the stent has deteriorated badly resulting in some major surgery coming in the new year.
I have finally found myself properly and taken that dive into doing things which I love and enjoy without fear of rejection or self esteem getting in the way.
I’m learning to balance things more, to realise I don’t have to be perfect and things don’t need to be done right in the immediate. I’m trying to be spontaneous more, enjoy life and slow down.
Tarot has become a more regular fixture in my life, I’m improving at reading cards and linking them together and I’ve really been enjoying it.
All in all 2021 has been a year of growing, learning and breathing. I have learnt a lot, I have changed a lot and I am excited to go into the next year a lot more balanced and grounded. We even survived the dreaded covid!
I’d love to know how 2021 has treated you and what you’ve learnt from the year.
Thanks for reading.
Read, Write, Inspire 